LoginOutlines forces causing air leakage through openings in a building. Discusses likely leakage paths and states importance of identifying these and improving the air tightness of walls, windows, floors and roofs.
Bibliographic database Airbase
AIRBASE is the Bibliographic Database of the AIVC. It contains publications and abstracts of articles related to energy efficient ventilation. Where possible, sufficient detail is supplied in the bibliographic details for users to trace and order the material via their own libraries. Topics include: ventilation strategies, design and retrofit methods, calculation techniques, standards and regulations, measurement methods, indoor air quality and energy implications etc. Entries are based on articles and reports published in journals, internal publications and research reports, produced both by university departments and by building research institutions throughout the world. AIRBASE has grown and evolved over many years (1979 to present day, over 22000 references and 16000 documents available online). For most of the references, the full document is also available online.
Access to the publications is free of charge.
Discusses in general terms the importance of attending to detail in construction. Gives examples of faulty design and construction.
Discusses the two methods for calculating air infiltration given in the ASHRAE handbook.
Presents examples of the use of a generalized model of air infiltration, developed earlier, to estimate the air infiltration characteristics of two test homes using data for the structures, weather and furnace installation.
This is a practical handbook for retrofitting existing buildings. Describes with illustrations the addition of insulation, weatherstripping windows, and doors, addition of triple glazing and the installation of a vapour barrier.
Reports pressure measurements made on five shapes of glasshouses, under natural wind conditions and generally over a 90 deg. range of direction. Gives pressure coefficients from 48 tapping points for four different glasshouses.
Ventilation is a key factor in low energy housing and in temperate maritime climates such as Britain's moisture is a major factor in determining ventilation needs. Outlines necessary levels of humidity for both people and buildings.
Discusses heat losses from buildings. Calculates proportion of heat loss due to ventilation under simplifying assumptions. Discusses factors influencing air change rates.
Improved levels of thermal insulation for dwellings in W.Germany have substantially reduced thermal transmission losses, so that ventilation heat loss has become much more important component of total building heat demand.
Air leakage through the junction between wall and roof of a building can cause damage from excess dampness. Discusses in detail the problem of constructing atight wall/roof junction for different forms of roof construction.
Discusses masonry walls in relation to the air tightness of buildings. Considers mainly panel walls constructed of concrete blocks.
Discusses indoor air quality in residences with low ventilation rates. Reports investigation of indoor air pollutant levels in a test kitchen with a gas stove under various air change rates.
Describes a dynamic pressure anemometer which belongs to the group of pressure-tube anemometers (pitot-static tubes) and is intended for measurement of one velocity component in a three dimensional flow field at air velocities of 0.1 to 10 m/s.
Reviews the source and nature of pollutants occurring in indoor air.
Presents a technique using fan pressurization results and weather data to calculate infiltration.
There is a need for correlating results of pressurization tests with infiltration tests, making it possible to predict the infiltration rate of a building on the basis of a pressurization test. Discusses problems with calculation models
Describes a method for determining the leakage of an entire building. Each room is pressurized in turn and the leakages of individual rooms are summed to find the total leakage of the building.
Presents a survey of tracer gas techniques for measuring air infiltration and includes a theoretical derivation of the equations, a description of each method, and a short description of the experimental procedure.
Describes an automatic measurement system for air infiltration and discusses factors influencing the measurements in single rooms or in a group of connected rooms.
Reviews experimental techniques for determining the infiltration characteristics of buildings. Discusses the use of wind tunnel models to determine surface pressure distributions and ventilation rates.